All of the performances were so exquisitely alive, the arts of listening and unselfconscious participation so in full use, that this had to be one of those heightened evenings that result from offstage exigencies.

Shakespeare's classic comedy didn't need to be set in the postwar Italy of 1948 to showcase its biggest laughs. But in doing so, director Carl Reggiardo is able to ratchet up the slapstick in this under-the-stars staging.